Database Users

Motorola S9 + S9-HD

Friends,
Just recently purchased through AT+T the S9 Motorola bluetooth wireless headset. I was wondering what is the difference in sound for the Motorola S9 compared to the S9-HD?
Please advise.
tvos

When I first read your thread title I thought I was going to have to solve a complicated math equation.
The answer is obviously 2.

what is the difference, that is what i am asking...!
do you really hear the difference between the two bluetooth headsets?
tvos

Lol @ X2D.
The difference is between sound, battery life, and the ability to handle sweat. They both suck at reception, although the S9HD does have better bass. I like that the S9HD can handle sweat, while soon enough, S9's will die from it.

I decided to bail on the s9 and order the s9+hd... i tested s9 and it does sound really good and with srs working (extra bass) no complaints here.. but I do want to use this for working out and not having to spend $$ every six months because it shorts out due to water.
tvos

tvos said:
I decided to bail on the s9 and order the s9+hd... i tested s9 and it does sound really good and with srs working (extra bass) no complaints here.. but I do want to use this for working out and not having to spend $$ every six months because it shorts out due to water.
tvos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bail? As in return? Give up? Put in a drawer? lol.

return it...while awaiting my s9+hd..
i used my $50.00 refund from the fuze I purchased towards the s9 which at&t sold it for $100.00 costing me $50.00. I found a site on-line for $70.00 which in the end costs me $20.00 for the s9+hd
tvos

S9+hd + srs wow
Just recently returned the S9 for S9+HD and very impressed!
With these two applications it is definitely well worth the investment. I didn't have any problems with reception even up to 30ft.
I definite must have hardware!
tvos

I also upgraded from the regular S9 to the S9-HD and have been very happy. I can't honestly say that I can tell about the sound quality, but the reception and fit is better.

you should definitely install SRS WOW on the diamond... its an incredible difference..
tvos

Never had a problem at all with reception on my S9. Never any static, and works a great distance from the phone.
I'm a fat sweaty guy, and I use mine at the gym. NEVER had a problem with it, but I hear others do. I'm going to assume people just leave the usb cover open or something when they use them.

I had an S9 like a year ago with my Dash and I had to return it twice. I sweat ALOT and it could not handle it. Hopefully the S9HD is better.

is there a carrying case to protect these headphones? i had to return my headphones because there was a rattle coming from the left ear piece.
other than that - i normally clean the stereo headphones from sweat so that way they will be clean.. preventive maintenance..
i have noticed after having the headphones on for awhile, the ears start to ache a bit..
tvos

kbcherry said:
I also upgraded from the regular S9 to the S9-HD and have been very happy. I can't honestly say that I can tell about the sound quality, but the reception and fit is better.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how do you carry the headphones around? do you use a bag, I am afraid that they will be damaged in transit.. I was wondering if there was a case that will protect them?
also, do you get a rattle from the headphones? i RMA'd my first headphone, recieved the new one.. same problem.. or it might be the ear bud.
please advise
tvos

I have a pair now that I use on a daily basis. I have had little problems with them. They sound great, pair to phone easy. (did come across one rom they didn't work with, but that was not the headphones fault)
I picked mine up not long ago for only $60.

mine ran me around $79.00 - I picked up the S9+HD and not the S9 which is a older version.
I noticed a littel rattle in the earpiece.. not sure if it is the rubber part or something inside. I rma'd the first one back to shopcell and recieved new one.. same thing.. so I question this.
do you have this issue? I am a jogger.
tvos

Have any you trie the JayBirds? How do they compare to the S9 HD?

tvos said:
is there a carrying case to protect these headphones? i had to return my headphones because there was a rattle coming from the left ear piece.
other than that - i normally clean the stereo headphones from sweat so that way they will be clean.. preventive maintenance..
i have noticed after having the headphones on for awhile, the ears start to ache a bit..
tvos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Holy crap what are you people doing to these things. I have the S9 and I have personally had 0 problems. I use them to mow the grass, I even wear them with my motorcycle. Great sound and reception. Never a problem with carrying them around as i pull them out of my ears and let them hang on my neck.
Now the only real issue i have is the speaker head is a little big for my ears, so after a few hours of them in my ears start to hurt. other than that my use of them has been great. Sorry to hear you all have had issues with them.

I ordered a s9 via ebay (31bucks + free shipping). I'm hoping to see it this coming week.

rlblue said:
Never had a problem at all with reception on my S9. Never any static, and works a great distance from the phone.
I'm a fat sweaty guy, and I use mine at the gym. NEVER had a problem with it, but I hear others do. I'm going to assume people just leave the usb cover open or something when they use them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I owned a S9 . By now are unusable. Is a matter of time when controls start to fail when is exposed to sweat. Besides this, I think are great and unique design. Hopefully Motorola can address this problem.

Volume muffled when set on a flat surface

I've noticed this issue without a case and with the Otterbox.
Ringtone volume is cut in half if it's sitting down on a flat surface. If it's propped up a bit, the volume gets twice as loud, making it easy to hear from another room.
Has anyone else noticed this and done something about it? Was thinking of trying to find something small to stick to the back of the phone that would raise it up a bit when it's set down.

It's just science. Pressing the speaker against a surface will always muffle it. But raising it slightly above a hard surface will cause the sound to reverberate off the surface and will make the volume sound louder.
I have a piece of velcro (the soft side) stuck to the back of my phone where the Google logo is that I use to mount the phone with in my car. It achieves the effect you desire perfectly.

That is because the ringtone sound comes from the speaker on the back of your phone. Cover it up and it is going to get lower. Put it on its face.

kbizzle said:
That is because the ringtone sound comes from the speaker on the back of your phone. Cover it up and it is going to get lower. Put it on its face.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But, the OP is right that it will actually sound the loudest if you have it on it's back, slightly raised, so the sound is reverberating off the surface. And, if you are using it as a speakerphone, you will muffle the mic by laying it on it's face.
I personally wouldn't have added the velcro just for this reason, but it does come in handy when using speakerphone at my desk.

I can understand the science behind it. I didnt realize he was trying to achieve maximum sound, just that it was going quiet on him. Even with my Diamond, I used to cup my hand around the speaker to direct the sound at my face while I watched Youtube. Still use the technique with my Hero.

The flip side to this is that it seems to have much better sound quality when it's set down on a hard surface. Music sounds much better when my phone is sitting on my desk than when I pick it up or have it in my shirt pocket. Seems to have better bass when lying down, less "tinny" sounding. (Not that you're every going to get *amazing* sound out of such a tiny speaker, though.)

doojer said:
It's just science.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL.
10chars.

Maybe you could design something like this for the Hero.
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/aircurve

Tikerz said:
Maybe you could design something like this for the Hero.
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/aircurve
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
or this one
http://blog.makezine.com/iVictrola.jpg

I thought my phone's speaker was broken!!! I wondered why after returning it 4 times, it still sounded muffled when I set it down.
Thanks for all this helpful information.

joelmalachy said:
I thought my phone's speaker was broken!!! I wondered why after returning it 4 times, it still sounded muffled when I set it down.
Thanks for all this helpful information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently someone didnt get an A in science!!! Lol.

Hey guys I have a related question. When I SCUBA dive with my phone I can't hear it ring and it gets all messed up when I get out of the water. Anybody else notice this?

scirio said:
Hey guys I have a related question. When I SCUBA dive with my phone I can't hear it ring and it gets all messed up when I get out of the water. Anybody else notice this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL! Use a ziplock bag.

scirio said:
Hey guys I have a related question. When I SCUBA dive with my phone I can't hear it ring and it gets all messed up when I get out of the water. Anybody else notice this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a little different problem. When I put my phone on silent mode, I can't hear the phone ring. Is there something wrong with my phone?

Ha ha, here is some more proverbial wood for the fire **wood**. Hopefully it is enough to keep the flame going.

Tikerz said:
I have a little different problem. When I put my phone on silent mode, I can't hear the phone ring. Is there something wrong with my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd take it back to the Sprint store. Something's obviously messed up.

Am I high, or was there really an entire thread created to ask this question.
PS. When my phone rings I pick it up and there seems to be another human at the other end...whats going on here?

coldsweat said:
PS. When my phone rings I pick it up and there seems to be another human at the other end...whats going on here?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's just the government spying on you. Nothing to be worried about.

Its the census guy. Tell him nothing!!!!

my new phone is giving me headache. why? this is science. lol new bluetooth.

[MOD] Speaker hole enlargement

Hey all, watching some flash videos today made me notice how poorly the N1 puts sound out the back speaker, even compared to my old G1. I remember back in my Blackberry days that people used to mod the backs to "let more sound get out", and so I started looking into this...
First off, the speaker is GINORMOUS in relation to the slit. If you look inside the back where the speaker is, you can see a little internal grille, and the small slit for sound to escape. There's also a TON more room where that grille isnt attached to the back (same shape as the slit, only about 5x the size) that could be milled out pretty easily, and still retain the "keep crap out of the back" feature of the grille.
So, this leaves me with a few questions:
Where can I get a replacement back, in case my mill catches a bit more than I anticipate?
Anyone else interested? I figure if I set up to do one, I might as well bang a few others out instead of setting up multiple times.
Once I get a second back, I will be going at this with pics and hopefully notable improvement in projecting sound into my hand, and back toward my face!
I might not be a software hacker, but when it comes to this sort of thing, I figure its the best way I can give back to the community!

Give HTC support a call and tell them your cover doesn't line up properly(I don't think any of them do) they'll send you out a replacement. If they don't they can sell you one for ten bucks I think.
Hope to hear good results from your mod, might do it myself.

I actually think the small slit does something to amplify the sound..
Take the back off, play music, put it on. Notice it gets louder when you place it back on..
I don't know though, but I'll be following this thread!

Wisefire said:
I actually think the small slit does something to amplify the sound..
Take the back off, play music, put it on. Notice it gets louder when you place it back on..
I don't know though, but I'll be following this thread!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, I think the OP should test and see if there's even a noticeable difference without the back cover. I would think not...

Try removing the cover, sounds WAY worse.

Yes, I completely realize the back sounds bad off, its acting as a resonator, or isolating front from back waves of the speaker, which causes phase cancellation. Thus why im not removing the cover, just making the one hole bigger. It SHOULD not lose the "low end" that it has with the back on (if you want to call it that.
Either way, Im hacking at least one up, Ill post results!

Do it. (poor phone!)

I would suggest to replace the speaker with a Desire one, some people who have both phones pretend it's way louder on Desire, and yes it's the same form factor and size so it should fit

It is quite a bit louder without the cover but sounds bad due to the lack of resonance.
Shouldnt be too bad with just an enlargement, make sure you put something to block out dust. Let us know how it goes.

I've found that attaching one of these to the back quite useful...

or try a vuvuzela

I think the engineer who designed that whole was well aware of resonance qualities. If you make that whole and turns out better, you should apply to HTC job hehe...

@Hummeroid
Good idea ...
What about drilling mini-holes arround the "slit" ?
Instead of making ONE BIG hole ...

Very Interesting mod idea...I think the small drilled holes would be an effective test.

Or just cup your left hand around the back of the phone.

I looking for the out come of this.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

mrbkkt1 said:
Or just cup your left hand around the back of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hah, I've never seen anyone else do it, but I do this all the time if I'm showing people a video or am in a noisy setting (ie. party)

clickwir said:
hah, I've never seen anyone else do it, but I do this all the time if I'm showing people a video or am in a noisy setting (ie. party)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, everyone does it.. I mostly do it when I want to listen to something quiet, I can turn it down and redirect the sound towards me.

I actually have a really good pair of earphones. I prefer that the main speaker is in the back, instead of in the earpiece like some phones. Prevents earspeaker blowout and call quality is damn good with this phone so far.

mrbkkt1 said:
Or just cup your left hand around the back of the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I try to put it up against a wall. Your hand can work to absorb sound waves, thus deadening sound and lowering overall quality; but drywall bounces the sound waves back nearly impeccably. Desks, etc, any hard surface should do the trick.

TP2/EVO speaker swap

I replaced the loud speaker on my evo with an oem i ordered online. It was a very easy fix and everything is good now. As I was putting in the new speaker I started to think of how good my TP2 sounded when I used the loud speaker. It just had a nice crisp sound that I havent been able to get out of my Evo. I searched and found a TP2 replacement and from what I can see, it looks just like it! I am about to order one to try it just wanted to get some feedback on this before i waste money. Why is the sound on tp2 better? Thanks.
http://www.globaldirectparts.com/HTC-Touch-Pro2-Loud-Speaker-p/htc737530.htm
via EVO.

Wouldn't the case itself make a difference in this? The TP2 had a pretty open back panel to allow sound to pass through. Or at least I remember that being the case. All the holes could have been fake. I gave mine to a family member when I got my Evo so can't check.
Might be a better speaker, but I doubt it will ever sound as good.

mobius999 said:
Wouldn't the case itself make a difference in this? The TP2 had a pretty open back panel to allow sound to pass through. Or at least I remember that being the case. All the holes could have been fake. I gave mine to a family member when I got my Evo so can't check.
Might be a better speaker, but I doubt it will ever sound as good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are probably right. I gave mine away also and havent looked at one in a while. Thanks.
via EVO.

Tp2 had two speakers from what i remember
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Blackcircle said:
...http://www.globaldirectparts.com/HTC-Touch-Pro2-Loud-Speaker-p/htc737530.htm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks like that site has a minimum quantity required for ordering items. Is there a way around that or are you going to order the minimum and resell them?

bill875 said:
It looks like that site has a minimum quantity required for ordering items. Is there a way around that or are you going to order the minimum and resell them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must have missed that. I was only using the site to show the photo. I will find it somewhere else.
via EVO.

cor4twenty said:
Tp2 had two speakers from what i remember
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If thats the case i guess that kills the idea then.
via EVO.

They both use the same parts...same thing with the headset speaker
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

iitreatedii said:
They both use the same parts...same thing with the headset speaker
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I guess mobius999 was right then. It is the back cover that makes all the difference.
via EVO.

Yuppers...different cases produce different soubds
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

The sound doesn't look like it travels directly out of the speaker from what I saw when I took my 0003 apart, that plastic gasket makes me thing an attempt to "BOSE" it up...

Touch Pro 2 | TP2 | Rhodium | Speaker
cor4twenty said:
Tp2 had two speakers from what i remember
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if the TP2 has 2 speakers or just 2 speaker ports, but sound is definitely emitted from both holes to the left & right of the camera. (see attached photos) I can confirm it sounds much, much better than my Evo, it is louder and reproduces a wider range of frequencies.
It looks like sound quality on the Evo may have been sacrificed for the dual flash. (TP2 always took horrible photos for me.) If the TP2 and Evo share the same single speaker, the improvements are likely attributable to the case. Perhaps some modifications to the speaker / camera housing and the battery cover could yield an improvement.
If the current speaker porting on the Evo restricts airflow excessively it would lower the volume and could cause additional stress on the speaker itself causing them to fail prematurely and / or sound like crap. I am no expert in this specific speaker technology but at a basic level there is a physical mechanism moving which in turn moves the air (aka sound). If the air flow is constricted it will provide increased resistance against the speaker.

From what I remember the TP2 had two speakers. Not for stereo but for different ranges...one was lows and the other was highs. You could cover up each speaker while music was playing and hear the difference as you moved your finger from speaker to speaker.

dafunk60 said:
I'm not sure if the TP2 has 2 speakers or just 2 speaker ports, but sound is definitely emitted from both holes to the left & right of the camera. (see attached photos) I can confirm it sounds much, much better than my Evo, it is louder and reproduces a wider range of frequencies.
It looks like sound quality on the Evo may have been sacrificed for the dual flash. (TP2 always took horrible photos for me.) If the TP2 and Evo share the same single speaker, the improvements are likely attributable to the case. Perhaps some modifications to the speaker / camera housing and the battery cover could yield an improvement.
If the current speaker porting on the Evo restricts airflow excessively it would lower the volume and could cause additional stress on the speaker itself causing them to fail prematurely and / or sound like crap. I am no expert in this specific speaker technology but at a basic level there is a physical mechanism moving which in turn moves the air (aka sound). If the air flow is constricted it will provide increased resistance against the speaker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what I gathered after reading some of peoples input including yours. Even if the speakers are the same, I don't think it will make a difference. The back cover and housing are the key I think. Im going to play around with it this weekend see what I can come up with.
via EVO.

[Q] For those with their Nexus 4, is the earpiece making a screeching noise?

If I place my Nexus 4 against my ear, I can hear high pitched screeching and some popping coming from the earpiece, even when a call is not taking place. At first I thought it was a heat issue, maybe some capacitors or something getting a bit hot and whistling, so I turned the phone off and the noises stopped instantly.
This is pretty annoying and surely shouldn't be happening

Yes, mine too
losimagic said:
If I place my Nexus 4 against my ear, I can hear high pitched screeching and some popping coming from the earpiece, even when a call is not taking place. At first I thought it was a heat issue, maybe some capacitors or something getting a bit hot and whistling, so I turned the phone off and the noises stopped instantly.
This is pretty annoying and surely shouldn't be happening
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad you posted that, mine does it too - and I thought I had a faulty phone.
According to support I'm the first to report such a problem, have you called support about it? - 0800 328 6081.
The more of us that call, the better the chance it's sorted (if it's possible).
I can't live with that noise, it's too loud for me as I have sensitive hearing on interference like that.
So it looks like I'm sending mine back for a refund and go buy a S3
It does sound like poor build quality in suppressing electrical interference to the ear speaker, as you say capacitors or even a processor is leaking noise to that speaker in the same way cell/mobile radio causes to external speakers when brought close to them.

WOW so many problems already with this thing!!! I don't know about this phone right now

rshea said:
I'm glad you posted that, mine does it too - and I thought I had a faulty phone.
According to support I'm the first to report such a problem, have you called support about it? - 0800 328 6081.
The more of us that call, the better the chance it's sorted (if it's possible).
I can't live with that noise, it's too loud for me as I have sensitive hearing on interference like that.
So it looks like I'm sending mine back for a refund and go buy a S3
It does sound like poor build quality in suppressing electrical interference to the ear speaker, as you say capacitors or even a processor is leaking noise to that speaker in the same way cell/mobile radio causes to external speakers when brought close to them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I returned it to the store for a refund - they refused to swap it for another as they couldn't hear it . I've ordered another which I should get tomorrow, and if that has the same issue I'm not sure what to do - it doesn't really sound like something that can be fixed through software, does it?
I asked on another forum and one person replied saying that there's was ok, but maybe they're ears just aren't as sensitive as ours.
I remember as a kid, I could hear CRT TVs from a long way off (no sound was coming through the speakers) and nobody else could.

losimagic said:
I returned it to the store for a refund - they refused to swap it for another as they couldn't hear it . I've ordered another which I should get tomorrow, and if that has the same issue I'm not sure what to do - it doesn't really sound like something that can be fixed through software, does it?
I asked on another forum and one person replied saying that there's was ok, but maybe they're ears just aren't as sensitive as ours.
I remember as a kid, I could hear CRT TVs from a long way off (no sound was coming through the speakers) and nobody else could.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're right, I too always heard a CRT working (I still can when I see one working!)
Maybe we're hearing interference the average user is not going to hear.
If anyone else is reading this and owns a Nexus 4, try calling your voicemail (which I assume would be free for you) - during the call wait for a few seconds and listen carefully, it's more obvious when you're not talking and in a call.
The noise is almost like having a small fly trapped between the phone and your ear at times, it also reminds me of the noise a hard drive makes at times and most of us know what that sounds like.

rshea said:
I think you're right, I too always heard a CRT working (I still can when I see one working!)
Maybe we're hearing interference the average user is not going to hear.
If anyone else is reading this and owns a Nexus 4, try calling your voicemail (which I assume would be free for you) - during the call wait for a few seconds and listen carefully, it's more obvious when you're not talking and in a call.
The noise is almost like having a small fly trapped between the phone and your ear at times, it also reminds me of the noise a hard drive makes at times and most of us know what that sounds like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it even when I wasn't on a call - a few seconds after powering up the phone and it was there

You guys are nerds
No, I can feel your pain! Hopefully you guys can sort this out and this is in general not a common problem with the N4.

i don't have this issue

It seems to be an issue with the electromagnetic shielding. I get this problem when I am next to my sound system and amplifier. Those things arent shielded. Now in school where theres basically nothing else here my earpiece is completely clean. Not even a hiss.

does it also emit a sound when it is swithced on, but the screen is off? i remember i had sth. like this (high-pitched sound) on my first google nexus s, but it was clearly coming from the screen rather than the earpiece.

Received a replacement today - it's A LOT better. There's still a very feint buzz, but it's barely noticeable.

Hallucinogen775 said:
does it also emit a sound when it is swithced on, but the screen is off? i remember i had sth. like this (high-pitched sound) on my first google nexus s, but it was clearly coming from the screen rather than the earpiece.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, even did it without a simcard inside. Definitely coming from the earpiece, if I moved my ear down the phone it was quieter/silent.

What about in airplane mode?

jacklebott said:
What about in airplane mode?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't test the previous one in airplane mode, but just tried this one and it's the same.

Definitely getting the same issue with my N4; screen on or off. Can't imagine this being fixed by firmware, sounds like a bad hardware design.
I'm also once of these people who gets irritated by the sound of DVD Players/VCR/TV etc. But two other people I have shown seem to think its an issue too.

It's good to read a replacement was better, that's made my day.
The problem is certainly a electromagnetic shielding issue with the earpiece, I can stand in a middle of a field and it has that sound you often get from PC or Hi-Fi speakers when you stand close to them.
But with the earpiece you can't move it of course - so clearly a design flaw, and hopefully only on a batch?
That said, it does seem to be an intermittent fault, I've also noticed it doesn't happen within the first 10-30 seconds of a call. I wonder if the phone stops all background processes during the start of a call, but then later kicks in which causes those noises.

losimagic said:
I remember as a kid, I could hear CRT TVs from a long way off (no sound was coming through the speakers) and nobody else could.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can hear the high pitched noise from a CRT from, like, 100'. Can a lot of other people really not hear them? Also, deer/dog/insect deterrents that people use in their homes and yard give me an instant headache from the sound. Great. This does not bode well. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge if/when I get to it.

Same here

estallings15 said:
I can hear the high pitched noise from a CRT from, like, 100'. Can a lot of other people really not hear them? Also, deer/dog/insect deterrents that people use in their homes and yard give me an instant headache from the sound. Great. This does not bode well. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge if/when I get to it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly that, those who can't hear those audible repellents for pets, or not hear the Apps available which also emit very annoying high pitch sounds - then would not be bothered by the noise we mention here.
I'm certain if I took my N4 into a shop, the typical response from staff would be "we can't hear it"

I have this issue with my phone as well. Screen on or off. Charging or not. Noise is still present.